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File picture shows durians being sold at a roadside stall in Taman Kinrara, May 24, 2016. — Picture by Saw Siow FengSERDANG, Sept 13 — The Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry expects durians from Malaysia to be exported directly to China between one and two years from now.

Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek said through the cooperation between the ministry and the government of Guanxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a three-day festival promoting Malaysian durians would be held in China from Oct 19 to 21 in Nanning.

“We have obtained special approval from the authorities there to export durians for the festival, which is the first of its kind in China,” he said to reporters after officiating the ‘Road To Nanning Durian Festival 2017’ workshop here today.

He said the Malaysian government would strive to obtain the protocol and agreement from China to enable Malaysia to export unprocessed durians to China.

“Currently, Malaysia is only allowed to export processed or frozen durians to China, while fresh durians have to go through a third country like Hong Kong or Thailand prior to entering China,” he said.

Apart from two containers of durians, over 200 durian-based products like coffee, ice-cream and pancakes would also be featured at the festival, he said.

“The coming festival in China is an important event for Malaysia as it is the window of opportunity for local durian industry players to explore potential business opportunities in China, where durians command a higher price,” he said. — Bernama